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There are a couple of people in the world who can really program in C or FØRTRAN. They write more code in less time than it takes for other programmers. Most programmers aren’t that good.

Bill Joy

Take responsibility for the things you build and invent.
BILL JOY

Responsibility Taking Responsibility
You can’t prove anything about a program written in C or FORTRAN. It’s really just Peek and Poke with some syntactic sugar.
BILL JOY

Program Prove Sugar
Systems are going to get a lot more sophisticated.
BILL JOY

Lot Sophisticated Systems
I got tired of people complaining that it was too hard to use UNIX because the editor was too complicated.
BILL JOY

Editors People Tired
Sometimes the easiest way to get something done is to be a little naive about it.
BILL JOY

Done Littles Way
Operating systems are like underwear – nobody really wants to look at them.
BILL JOY

Looks Underwear Want
But no, I don’t generally have trouble with spelling mistakes.
BILL JOY

Generally Spelling Mistake Trouble
There are always more smart people outside your company than within it.
BILL JOY

Company Outside People Smart
The best way to do research is to make a radical assumption and then assume it’s true. For me, I use the assumption that object oriented programming is the way to go.
BILL JOY

Research Use Way
I think editors have to come out of a certain kind of community.
BILL JOY

Community Editor Thinking
You can drive a car by looking in the rear view mirror as long as nothing is ahead of you. Not enough software professionals are engaged in forward thinking.
BILL JOY

Mirrors Thinking Views
The standard definition of AI is that which we don’t understand.
BILL JOY

Computing Definitions Standards
Given the incredible power of these new technologies, shouldn’t we be asking how we can best coexist with them? And if our own extinction is a likely, or even possible, outcome of our technological development, shouldn’t we proceed with great caution?
BILL JOY

Asking Development Technological
Bitmap display is media compatible with dot matrix or laser printers.
BILL JOY

Dots Lasers Media
We can’t simply do our science and not worry about the ethical issues.
BILL JOY

Ethical Issues Worry
Although humankind inherently “desires to know”, if open access to, and unlimited development of, knowledge henceforth puts us all in clear danger of extinction, then common sense demands that we re-examine our reverence for knowledge.
BILL JOY

Common Sense Desire Knowledge
I wish we hadn’t used all the keys on the keyboard.
BILL JOY

Keyboard Keys Wish
What’s your personal computer, anyways? Your personal computer should be something that’s always on your person.
BILL JOY

Computer Should Technology
That lack of programmability is probably what ultimately will doom vi. It can’t extend its domain.
BILL JOY

Domain Doom Fate
The next step after cheap is free, and after free is disposable.
BILL JOY

Disposable Next Steps Selling
The point is that you want to have a system that is responsive.
BILL JOY

Responsive System Want
Most of the bright people don’t work for you – no matter who you are.
BILL JOY

Management Matter People
A bomb is blown up only once-but one bot can become many, and quickly get out of control.
BILL JOY

Bombs Control Quickly
I started to write a new editor not too long ago and had it about half done after two days.
BILL JOY

Ago Editor Long Writing
I just don’t like to lose what’s in the window.
BILL JOY

Like Loses Window
Interleaf is very nice. I expect there to be a lot of competition for programs like that.
BILL JOY

Competition Nice Program
I think one of the interesting things is that vi is really a mode-based editor.
BILL JOY

Editors Interesting Thinking

There are a couple of people in the world who can really program in C or FØRTRAN. They write more code in less time than it takes for other programmers. Most programmers aren’t that good.

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Popular Authors

There are a couple of people in the world who can really program in C or FØRTRAN. They write more code in less time than it takes for other programmers. Most programmers aren’t that good.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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